I came to London with a suitcase full of preconceptions and stereotypes about the place that would become my home for a year. Even though I consider myself open-minded, I could not help but expect an exorbitantly expensive city with terrible food and weather, Mr. Bean-like people, an unpopular royal family and pubs crowded with loud hooligans.
After all this time living in the UK, I've learned that some of these legends are completely false, whereas others have turned out to be surprisingly accurate! Here's my take on some things British I have encountered along the way:
- Food: I swear I have given it many chances, but I still dislike most British food. To a Cuban used to abundant seasoning, British meals generally seem bland, and the fact I hate lamb automatically makes me hate half the items on a typical British restaurant menu. There are things I do like, however, like "good" fish-and-chips dishes and Cornish pasties. And, of course, the English breakfast, which traditionally comes with eggs, bacon, mushrooms, toast, sausage, baked beans, tomato and hash browns. It's delicious! No wonder the English playwright W. Somerset Maugham said that "to eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day."
